Signature Inn Bettendorf, IA, and Kalamazoo & Plymouth, MI

Today's post is a 3-for-one deal!

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing Maps

map graphic courtesy of signature-inns.com at archive.org

The Bettendorf, Iowa, Signature Inn opened in 1989 and was the chain's only location in Iowa.  It contains 119 rooms.

This hotel was sold in mid-2005 and as far as I can tell, it's been a Ramada ever since.

The following undated photos I saved from the Scott County, Iowa, Assessor's website shows that not much has been done regarding alterations to the exterior of the building...it still looks very much like a Signature Inn, and that is by no means a complaint.

courtesy of Scott County, IA, assessor

courtesy of Scott County, IA, assessor

courtesy of Scott County, IA, assessor

Looking again at the aerial view, the pool enclosure had me intrigued.  It looked like it could have been original, but many of the pools began as outdoor pools, so I did some more looking.  As it turns out, the pool was replaced with an indoor one in 2006.

courtesy of Scott County, IA, assessor

courtesy of Scott County, IA, assessor

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing Maps

The Kalamazoo, Michigan, location opened in 1989, containing 132 rooms.  This was another one of Signature Inn's locations that was sold off in the mid 1990s; this particular hotel was sold in 1993.

The exterior of this hotel has changed very little since its opening; the only significant change was the addition of the pool enclosure in 1994, a year after its sale.

As of 2005, the hotel was a Best Western, as shown in the below photos, courtesy of the Kalamazoo, Michigan, assessor (and one from Google Maps).

courtesy of Kalamazoo, MI, assessor

courtesy of Kalamazoo, MI, assessor

October 2012 photo courtesy of Google Maps

Sometime between October 2012 and September 2015, the hotel changed over to a Clarion Inn:

September 2015 photo courtesy of Google Maps

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing Maps

The Plymouth, Michigan, location opened in 1989.  It contains 115 rooms, slightly less than the average.  This hotel was sold out of the Signature Inn chain in late 1994.

Since its sale, this hotel has been a Comfort Inn.  It has received some updates to the exterior, and as I was browsing Tripadvisor.com, I noticed that the pool was an indoor one and not S-shaped.  Looking at a more recent overhead view from Google Maps, the outdoor pool had indeed been removed at some point.  I'm not quite sure where in the hotel the indoor one is located.

aerial imagery courtesy of Google Maps

sources for this post include the Scott County, Iowa, assessor's website, the Kalamazoo, Michigan, assessor's website, signature-inns.com archived at archive.org, jamesoninns.com archived at archive.org, information found at newspapers.com, and imagery found through Google Maps and Bing Maps.  The dividing lines were also "borrowed" from Signature Inn's old site.

Photographs of other Signature Inn locations can be found here: Formerly Signature Inn by Ryan on Flickr

Signature Inn Lexington and Louisville, KY

As it turns out, I have been able to photograph a lot of the earlier locations, but I am lacking in photos of the later-built ones.   Someday I hope to rectify that, but for now, it's another Google-Bing-Fest.  Please stay with me, as I have my own photos of a few of the locations yet to be covered.  I am again doubling up a couple of the locations for this post.

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing Maps

The Lexington, Kentucky, Signature Inn was one of four hotels built in 1988.  It contains 122 rooms, which was about the standard, give or take a couple, for those built during that time.

This was one of the nine hotels sold out of the chain early on in its history, with a late 1992 or early 1993 sale date.

As of September 1994, the hotel was a Comfort Inn; it later became a Quality Inn.

August 2015 imagery courtesy of Google Maps

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing Maps

map graphic courtesy of signature-inns.com at archive.org

The Louisville South location was another one of four hotels opened in 1988.  It was the smallest of the four, with only 119 rooms.  Below is a 11/26/1987 article from The Courier-Journal highlighting, among other things, the construction of the hotel.

courtesy of newspapers.com

Below is a 6/21/1988 advertisement from The Courier-Journal regarding the hotel's grand opening.

courtesy of newspapers.com

This hotel was switched over to the Jameson name in 2006.  At some point, this hotel underwent a major renovation, presumably to give it more of a Jameson vibe.  Even still, its former use is pretty evident and the S-shaped pool is still in place.

courtesy of Google Maps

courtesy of Google Maps

The hotel was one of the last seven remaining in the chain, having been sold in December 2012 or January 2013.  Since then, it has been a Baymont Inn & Suites.

sources for this post include the signature-inns.com archived at archive.org, jamesoninns.com archived at archive.org, information found at newspapers.com, and imagery found through Google Maps and Bing Maps.  The dividing lines were also "borrowed" from Signature Inn's old site.

Photographs of other Signature Inn locations can be found here: Formerly Signature Inn by Ryan on Flickr